Third-rail cover



No. 748,591. PATENTED JAN. 5., 1904.

H. F DUFFY. THIRD RAIL COVER.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 20. 1903.

N0 MODEL.

Patented January 5, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY F. DUFFY, OF SEATTLE WASHINGTON.

THIRD-RAIL COVER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 748,591,dated January 5, 1904.

Application filed June 20,1903- .To 00% whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HENRY FRANCIS DUFFY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Seattle, in the county of King and State of Washington, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Third-Rail Covers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to third-rail covers for electric railways, and the objects of the same are to provide a cover or protector which shall be adapted to be displaced by the contactshoe as it passes along the third rail and to provide means to automatically return the cover or protector to its normal position after the shoe has passed the various sections of which the cover is composed.

It is very desirable in third-rail electrical car-service to provide some means for preventing the contact of pedestrians or animals with the third rail in order to prevent injury or loss of life. It is also very desirable to protect the third rail from snow, ice, and sleet in winter. My invention is designed to accomplish these desirable purposes.

In the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification, Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a portion of a third rail covered and protected in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section of the same. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the contact-shoe and its supportinglevers.

Like numerals of reference designate like parts Whenever they occur in the difierent views of the drawings.

The numeral 1 designates the third rail, which may be secured to the ties 2 in the usual or any suitable manner. The rail 1 is provided at the back or top by an angle-iron 3 4, said angle-iron being properly secured to the ties and extending upward and horizontally over the rail, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. A series of posts or brackets are secured at intervals to the portion 3 of the angle-iron and extend above the horizontal portion at. A lever 6 is pivoted at 7 to each of the brackets 5, and the rear end of said lever 6 has attached a weight 8 in any suitable manner, said weight serving to counterbalance the weight of the vertically-moving plate or cover 9, which is connected to the front end of the lever 6 by a link 10, provided with a slot 11,

Serial No. 162,407 (No model.)

through which the curved end 12 of the lever 6 passes. A slot 13 is formed in each cover-plate 9near each end in order that when the shoe comes in contact with the curved end 14 of the plate 9 said plate will yield slightly to the action of the shoe.

In Fig. 3 the contact-shoe 15 is pivoted at 16 to a lever 17, the rear end of which is pivoted at 18 to a bracket 19, properly secured to the car, and to support the lever'17 at the desired heighta bracket 20 is secured at one end to the car and the opposite end being pivoted and slotted at 21 for an adjustingbolt 22. This arrangement permits the vertical adjustment of the shoe to the desired height to pass under the cover-plates 9 and to raise them as the shoe passes in a manner which will be understood from the drawings.

The operation of my invention will be obvious from the foregoing. The shoe 15 passes under the cover-plates 9 and raises them sufficiently to permit the lever 17 to pass along at the side of the rail, the plates 9 dropping back into position after the shoe has passed each plate. These plates over or under lap at their adjacent ends, so that the lever 17 will have engaged the next succeeding plate before becoming disengaged from the last plate in order that there may be no concussion by reason of the engagement of the lever with the plates.

My invention is simple in construction, easily applied to the third rail, and serves every purpose in third-rail electrical systems.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I desire to secure by Letters Patent and claim is-- 1. The combination with a rail-cover, of a series of plates,a series of counter-weighted levers and means connecting the levers and plates pivotally with one another.

2. Athird-rail cover comprising an angular cover extending at one side over the top of the rail; sectional plates suspended at the opposite side of the rail and levers carrying weights, the levers'connected with the plates and adapted to return the plates to their normal position after the shoe has passed, substantially as described.

3. A third-rail protector comprising a stationary cover, a slotted plate, a bracket secured to the cover, a counterweighted lever 2 a V V V 7 748,591

pivoted to the bracket and a link connecting counterweighted levers connected with the the lever and plate, one end of the lever replates, the plates adapted to be displaced bya ceived and retained in the slot in the plate. pivotally-supported lever, a contact shoe I 5 4. Athird-rail protector comprising acover, pivotally mounted on the lever and engaging 5 ap1ate,asuitably-supportedcounterweighted the rail and means for adjusting the lever.

lever, one end of which is provided with an In testimony whereof I afifix my signature offset end, an apertured link, the offset end in presence of two witnesses.

of the lever projecting through the aperture in the link, the plate and link connected to HENRY DUFFY 10 one another. Witnesses:

5. Athird-railprotector comprisingacover, P. P. CARROLL,

a series of movable plates,suitably-supported W. J. DALY. 

